If you like those "historical village" tourist attractions where they recreate old-timey life in static 3D detail — the milkmaid's stool, the cans of cocoa powder, the underequipped schoolroom — then you might like this book. I found it lifeless, its characters smothered under a blanket of superfluous exposition, their thoughts chaperoned tiresomely by Dillard's control-freaky, omniscient 3rd person. What little dialogue there is seems to be more a showcase for the author's lovingly-gathered period vernacular than an engine of character or plot. No character is permitted to appear without a fulsome description of their looks and apparel; no article without an explanation of its provenance, manufacture, etc. We're treated to interminable descriptions of carpentry, dressmaking, agriculture, trees living and dead, and all the other minutiae of life in 19th century Puget Sound, but we never really feel at home there. It's the commonest pitfall of the historical novel — the research overpowering the story — and with "The Living", Dillard hitches up her bloomers, or whatever ladies wore back then (I suppose I should know this after ~500 pages) and leaps enthusiastically in. ( )

Weird, feverish, uneven, compelling ( )

Good historical novel in the early pioneer days of the Pacific Northwest. ( )

Okay, so I spent a couple of hours listening to THE LIVING by Annie Dillard tonight, and I think I got what I wanted to get out of it (the entire audiobook is 16 hours). I actually liked this more than I thought I would, and learned a lot about the history and colonization of the Pacific Northwest. I also know a lot of things have changed and improved in publishing since 1992, but these things are intense: 1, As research for the novel, Dillard lived for five years in the Bellingham area, much of that time in 19th century era accommodations. 2, While writing the book, she never allowed herself to read works that postdated the year she was writing about, nor did she use anachronistic words. ...the book is set in the 1850s to the early 1900s. O.o ( )

"The Living" is a deft novel and as driven as I was to finish reading I didn't find the overall narrative to be too compelling. Dillard holds a weighty and biblical tone through most of the book as it chronicles life of pioneers in Whatcom County. Reading about life during this time was detailed and if you've ever visited the Puget Sound area the perspective of awe and wonder Dillard captures in the setting is well crafted indeed. It is a great skill to be able to capture the lives of particular people in a particular place but I finished the book thinking "so what?" as the sound of the wind through douglas fir rattled in my head. ( )